The FY14 Proposed Budget Document was released on May 10, 2013. Budget Committee held five meetings to review and discuss the FY14 Proposed Budget, and received public comment at four of those meetings.
Following a public hearing on June 5, 2013, the City of Eugene Budget Committee voted to forward its recommended budget to the City Council for final action. The Budget Committee recommends using reserves and projected PERS savings to provide funding to continue for one year the $5.3 million in services proposed for reduction by the City Manager. The committee will continue to meet at least six times over the next six months to develop a long term solution to the City’s General Fund structural deficit.
The Budget Committee’s motion, as amended and passed at the June 5 meeting, recommended the City Council fund the FY14 budget with the City Manager’s recommended cuts restored for one year by the following:
$1.1 million, in projected savings in PERS costs to the City as a result of State legislative action. $4.2 million, Reserve for Revenue Shortfall.The original motion included using the $1.1 million projected PERS savings, $1.7 million from the City Hall Facility Reserve, and $2.5 from the Reserve For Revenue Shortfall (RRSF). However, an amendment, which passed 9-7, deleted use of the City Hall Reserve and directed that portion of the costs also come from RRSF.
The Budget Committee has also recommended providing an additional $175,000 in one-time Human Services Commission funding, as well as providing $30,000 in funding and $25,000 through in-kind contributions to the Lane Regional Air Protection Agency (LRAPA).
Please see the summary of FY14 Budget Committee motions for full text of the motions that passed and individual committee member votes.
Budget Committee members expressed their appreciation for the many people from the community who attended public meetings and sent emails to express the importance of City services. The panel members clarified that using reserves is a temporary one-year measure and acknowledged the hard work ahead to find a sustainable solution to the structural budget gap.
The Eugene City Council held public hearings and adopted the FY14 budget as approved by the Budget Committee on Monday, June 24, 2013.